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Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out the best 11 players from the 14th round of 2015-16 Premier League matches.

All eyes were on one man this weekend - Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, who was aiming to make Premier League history by scoring for the 11th game in a row when Manchester United visited the King Power Stadium.

He did just that to put the Foxes a goal to the good, but Louis van Gaal's visitors responded to claim a 1-1 draw in the East Midlands.

That result saw Manchester City leap to the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Southampton, while Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Elsewhere, victories were picked up by Watford, Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Liverpool, while the encounters at Dean Court, White Hart Lane and Upton Park ended all square.

Here, Sports Mole has picked out the 11 players that made the biggest impression over the course of the weekend.


Asmir Begovic (Chelsea)
If reports that Thibaut Courtois is to return from injury next week are true, at least Begovic will return to his place on the bench having produced a decent display against Spurs. He made four stops, including one to deny the in-form Harry Kane, which kept his clean sheet intact.

Joel Ward (Crystal Palace)
Having recently returned to action following an injury layoff, it would seem that Ward has rediscovered his match fitness. Playing at right-back, the 26-year-old got forward on numerous occasions and he would have been rewarded with a goal from distance had Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot not pulled off a smart save.
Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur)
As far as summer signings go, few have been more impressive throughout the opening 14 games than the Belgian centre-back. Chelsea may not have operated with a natural centre-forward, yet Alderweireld was still called upon to do his fair share of defending. He made more clearances than any other player at White Hart Lane (15) and also won back possession five times for his side.
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
If Roy Hodgson had to pick his side for the opening game of Euro 2016 tomorrow, surely Smalling would be one of his two central defenders. He has been Man United's best player this term and the theme continued against Leicester at the King Power Stadium. His reading of dangerous situations was particularly impressive, while he also showed good pace on a couple of occasions to deny the home side.
Aleksander Kolarov (Manchester City)
When Kolarov is on top form, there are not many better left-backs in the Premier League. The Serbian has the ability to cause problems for defenders and goalkeepers alike with his wand of a left foot - something that he showed on a handful of occasions at the Etihad Stadium. To cap it off he scored an impressive goal in the 70th minute.

Robbie Brady (Norwich City)
The Republic of Ireland international has played in the full-back position at times this season, but it's on the wing where he seems to do his best work. Brady provided an intelligent pass which released Lewis Grabban to score the equalising goal and he continued to cause problems for Arsenal. More displays of this ilk and bigger clubs may well come calling.
Darren Fletcher (West Bromwich Albion)
Prior to the trip to Upton Park, Fletcher revealed how happy he was at West Brom - the club that he joined from Man United in January. It certainly showed on the pitch against the Hammers as the experienced midfielder put in an energetic display. Not only did the Scot cover over six-and-a-half miles, he had a passing accuracy of 91% and assisted his side's goal.
James McArthur (Crystal Palace)
Speaking to reporters after his Palace side had hammered Newcastle, McArthur admitted that he had not scored two goals in one game since Under-13 level. His first against the Magpies got the luck of a deflection, but there was nothing fluky about his second in the closing stages, which he drilled into the net. Normally an unsung hero, the 28-year-old would have found his name all over the Sunday newspapers.
Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)
Traditionally a winger, Alan Pardew deployed Bolasie in a more central position and the man from Congo thrived. Comfortable using either foot, he twisted and teased the Newcastle defence, who must have been sick of the sight of him come the final whistle. The 26-year-old found the net twice and on another day could very well have had a hat-trick.

Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
He had to be in, didn't he?! Vardy was his usual busy, hard-working and harrying self against Man United, not giving their defenders a moment of peace. Then, when his moment to break the record arrived, the England international didn't disappoint. Having capitalised on Ashley Young's slackness, he then fired a shot beyond David de Gea, which sparked scenes of bedlam inside the King Power Stadium.
Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
The powerful Belgian scored 10 Premier League games last season - a figure that he has already matched this time around thanks to his goal against Bournemouth. The 22-year-old has often been branded with the inconsistent tag, but in recent weeks there have been signs that he is keen to shake that off. The home defenders found it tough to keep Lukaku quiet, although they are not the first and will probably not be the last to have had that problem this term.


Numpty of the week

Newcastle: A week after they had been stuffed at home by Leicester, surely there would be a reaction from Newcastle, wouldn't there? Wrong. The whole team were so bad at Selhurst Park that it was impossible to single anyone out.

They got off to a great start thanks to Papiss Cisse, but that was as good as it got. What followed was yet another horror show for the travelling faithful, who saw their hapless side ship five goals. Very few players are showing commitment and surely it is only a matter of time before the axe is wielded on Steve McClaren's tenure?

Goal of the week

Adam Smith - (Bournemouth) vs. Everton: Not many players have scored a better first Premier League goal than the Bournemouth right-back, that's for sure.

With 10 minutes remaining and his side trailing 2-0, the substitute inherited possession 20 yards from goal. Some players would no doubt have crossed the ball back into the danger area, but Smith instead lashed a swerving shot goalwards that flew into the net via the post, leaving Tim Howard in the away goal rooted to the spot.


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Jamie Vardy of Leicester City scores his team's second goal from the penalty spot during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Watford at The King Power Stadium on November 7, 2015 in Leicester, England.
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Premier League Team of the Week
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Bournemouth104331312115
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
11Brentford94141818013
12Fulham93331212012
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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